Releasable window sash locking device



Nov. 11, 1952 H. A. STUKES RELEASABLE WINDOW SASH LOCKING DEVICE 3SheetsS heet 1 Filed Feb. 16. 1948 Nov. 11, 1952 STUKES 2,617,646 IRELEASABLE WINDOW SASH LOCKING DEVICE Filed Feb. 16, 1948 5 Sheets-Sheet2 3 A 3 20 #04011 4.5Md4

F56 M M.

1952 H. A. STUKES 2,617,646

RELEASABLE WINDOW SASH LOCKING- DEVICE Filed Feb. 16, 1948 3Sheets-Sheet 3 Hana. 4511a Arra /wry Patented Nov. 11, 1952 srArE-sPATENT nonmsaemwmnow SASHLOGKING DEVICE V "HoraeeA. ,Stukes,San.,Antonio,.,Tex.. Application-February 16, 1948; Serial No. 53s

ca in and. adapt d o rint and-lock; a; sash? suhporting rod attaohedyto"the; window sash, with;..means: for maintaining said gripping mom--ber=ingripping; relation with: the :IIOd: when they sash'i is: elevated,said-maintaining .means being releasablevfrom the rod-gripping memberby" the: weight of accumulated water, in case; of rain, to;allowthegripping member to: release the rod to-permit the; sash to"close...

A further feature. resides in the provision of a. pivotally mountedtrack, and a liquid container on thetrack arranged to: move the track,when filled with water, to in turn causethe gripping, member: to bereleased whereupon the sash: willclosei-by-gravitv,

A. still further object of the invention isto provide a sphericalweight, movable; along; the; track to. normally maintainthelockingdevicein. active, or sashsupportin nositioni The inventionalso may include weights-onthe gripping member which may beadjusted-rte,vary the: :quantityof. liquid: in. the container: which: is required toreleasa-ther gr-inpingmembee from the, rod.

The? invention also includes means" ion rs storing: the liqlidicontainer-lto, original, on liquid containing, position; upon returnoithapartstosash supporting position. a V v 3 The invention alsoincludesa .dash-ipot,associated. with. the, supporting. rod; torcontrolling the. downward movement, of; thesash. to. prevent its suddenstunn n upon release.

Other objects and advantages will be. apparent from the following.specifieationwhich is illustratedbythe accompanying drawings,.wherein:

Eigure'l is a sideelevation. ofj'the device shownirrsashilockins.position.

Figure2risa plan view thereof;

2 Claims. (01. 268-l23); I

a :rodsrispin ;memberrmountedmn: the-window v :Figure' 31s a cro etional view taken on. the 5 2, Figure 4 is a fragmentary, elevationalview offa. window casing: and? sashmountedivtherein; shown partly; in.section. showingrthe locking: device: sash-supporting: or lookingposition" Figure?) is;afragmentary,sectionahview-thereofatjakenonthe:line 5 -5. ofiFigure 4:

Figure 6; is; a: fragmentarm. vertical, sectional viewaof; the dash-pot.

Figure 7 is an elevational view ofrthexattachment: shown; partly in.sectiom. with: adjustable weights;onithe;rodjgripping member; and

-. Referring now: more...specifioallyrtoethe draw ingsthenuinoral-Jl1designatesithewimiow;easing:v

as a-;whole wherein there-ismounted; a.;:v,erti-oa'rllil li ablegsashiz;'lihena is. a sash: supnortingrrod. 3.whichqisextended.throueh-an-opening A;- in: the

bottomledge 5 of .thewin ow-ca-s ng. lineupper.- endofthis-rod: may be.attached to: the. sash; in any preferred manner; As:shown-.there-isralug6 securedto thedower;endrof;thei'sashiframei through which the; upperend ofythe rod extends andsaid: upper end is threaded "to reoeivertheclamp 131113331; 1: threaded-1 thereon: above: and: her neath-saidi'lug; whereby the rod is attached, to the-sash= Extending; through theopening 4- thereisa tube.--8, .-whioh may be enclosed,within the'walis:ofthe building; 9 and whose lower? end is: closedand:fixedo=the-upper-endofthe tube 8; there isa surrounding flange: l I]which-restsonand is se.- ouredrto, the. top; of the. ledge 5:. H isfitted; overthe: opening '4 and. isaseoured:

to ther-topof said: led e and thewnod :3 Works.

through a. suitablebear-ing in said plate. Also: fitted through theopening 4 and depending-from; ledge 5: and surrounding the upper-endQftubei 8 there is a container i2; This;v container and thetube. 8?contain 1iquid, preferablya. light. oil; and the upper end. of saidtube-.isprovided withwper forations 13. to permit passage. ofv theliquid: back andqforzthr Tine; lower-endhof the. rodextends. downintothetube 8: and fixed. on. the lower end of 'flIlBi-JIOdjthereis-tubular; plunger 14; 'I-he plunger; Mihas.

anaxial liquidpassagewav l5 therethroughewhiohl continues. on up. intothe lower end-.01 rod; and has .theside outlets, |6 =intotube 8. Aroundthe: passageway. [5 within. the. plunger there is an:

0 annular,,,downwardly facing valve: seat I whichispcontrolled by, thedownwardly opening. ba11l3 valveuiai A- couer plate' This valve. isnormally held closedtby a suitable spring l9, which may be. seated on a.cross, rod .20, in. the plunger: beneath? the valve.

Atdashrpotgisthustin.eflect, formed, v I

Upon downward movement er the sash I the valve 18 will close and theliquid in tube 8 beneath will gradually leak by the plunger, thuschecking the downward movement of the sash to prevent it from closingtoo suddenly. Upon upward movement of the sash valve l8 will freely opento allow free flow of liquid through the plunger so that the sash may beeasily elevated to open position. 7

Securely fastened on the ledge there is an enclosing housing 2| which islocated outside of the sash. Its upper side is formed into a shallowhopper 22 provided to catch a quantity of water, in case of rain, andthis hopper has a discharge opening 23.

Upstanding from the plate I l, at one side, there are the lugs 24, 24and pivotally mounted between them there is the locking lever 25. Therod 3 slides loosely through a hole 26 in one end of this lever. Theother end of lever 25 is extended and provided with a laterally extendedtrip bar There is a frame, preferably rectangular in plan and having theside bars 28, 28' forming a track. Extending out laterally from the bar28 there is a pintle 29 which extends through aligned bearings 30 in theupper ends of lugs 24, 24. This last mentioned side bar 28' also carriesa depending hook 3| which engages under the extended end of the lever25.

There is a spherical weight 32 on, and movable along, the tracks 28, 28and this weight is retained in place on the track by the inverted U-shaped retainer rod 33 which is fastened to the ends of said frame andone end of the retainer rod is extended downwardly forming a stop 34 tolimit therange of movement of the track.

At the other end of the track there is a transverse axle 35 which issecured in place by the side arms 33, 36 which are outwardly andupwardly inclined and which are fastened to the corresponding ends'ofthe tracks 28, 28'.

Mounted 'to rotate on the axle 35 there is a container 3! whose outerend is formed into an outlet spout 38 and whose inner end 39 is widenedupwardly, the sides of the container being substantially triangular, asshown in Figure 1. The pivotal support of the container on its axle isout slightly beyond center so that the container will normally be in itsupright position, as shown in Figure 1 and the inner end of thecontainer has a depending leg 43 so that when the corresponding end ofthe track moves downwardly the leg 40 will contact with the ledge 5 andtip the container outwardly so as to lower its spout and allow dischargeof the liquid contents of said container.

In case of rain the container 31 Will fill with water and over balancethe pivotally mounted track so as to move the corresponding end of thetrack downwardly and the hook 3] will release the locking lever 25 andas said end of the track goes down and strikes the trip bar 21, itlowers the corresponding end of said lever thus bringing the lever intosubstantially horizontal position so that the hole 28 will be concentricwith the rod 3 and the gripping action on said rod will thereby bereleased so that the window sash will move downwardly to closed positionby gravity. This downward movement of the sash will be relatively slow,as hereinabove explained, to prevent the sash from violently strikingthe ledge 5. The water collected in the container 31 will be dischargedas previously explained.

When the track has moved to discharging position thespherical weight 32will move alon said track to the opposite end thereof. This weightassures the quick operation of the releasing device since just as soonas there is suificient water in the container 31 to over balance thetrack the weight will move along and accelerate the movement of thetrack to unlock the lever 25 from the rod 3. However, said sphericalweight 32 is primarily provided to maintain the device in active, orlooking, position as shown in the drawingswith thesash elevated until itis overbalanced by water collecting in the container 31.

The position of the weight 32 on the track may be adjusted by means ofan adjusting screw 4| which is threaded through the corresponding end ofthe retainer rod 33 and whose inner end forms a stop for said weight.

Upstanding from the track 28' there is a grip member 42 which extends onup through the hopper 22. By the use of this grip member the free end ofthe track may be elevated so that the spherical weight 32 will roll backto its original position and the locking lever 25 will be moved intodiagonal position relative to the rod 3 and Will grip said rod, as shownin Figure 1, and hold the sash, which has been previously elevated, inits elevated position. At the same time the weight of the depending leg40 will over balance the container 31 and move said container toupright, or receiving position as illustrated in Figure 1.

In the form shown in Figures 7 and 8 the end of the locking lever 25a,which is remote from the trip bar 21, is formed with an extension 43 onwhich there is mounted a weight 44 which may be adjusted along saidextension and fixed at any desired point of adjustment by the set screws45 which work through an oblong slot 46 in said extension. On said lever25a on the opposite side of the pintle 29 there is another weight l!which may be adjusted along said lever and fixed at any point ofadjustment by set screws 48. These weights G4 and 41 may be adjusted soas to vary the balancing-of the locking lever 25a which, in turn, willvary the amount of water in the container 31 necessary to over balancethe track.

Connected to and depending from the inner end of the container 31 thereis a depending weight 49 which not only holds the container 31 inreceiving position when it is elevated but which also contacts againstthe ledge 5 and tilts the container to discharging position when thecorresponding end of the track is lowered. This weight servesthe samepurpose as the leg 40 of Figure 1.

In other respects than above pointed out the form shown in Figures '7and 8 is similar to that form shown in the other figures.

The drawings and description disclose what are now considered to bepreferred forms of the invention by way of illustration only while thebroad principle of the invention will be defined by the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. The combination with a window structure including a window casingprovided with a bottom ledge and a window sash positioned for verticalmovement in the casing, of a window sash locking device comprisinga sashsupporting rod secured at its upper end to the sash and extendingthrough an opening in said bottom ledge, tubular means secured tosaidledge and surrounding the rod below said ledge, a liquid containerfitted around said opening and depending from said ledge and adapted tosurround the upper end of said tube, said tube having openings incommunication with the container through which the liquid may flow,means secured to the lower end of said rod adapted to move axially insaid tube and forming therewith a dash-pot to arrest the downwardmovement of the window sash connected to said rod, upstanding members onsaid ledge, rod gripping means pivotally mounted between said membersone end of which is fitted around said rod to hold it against downwardmovement, frame means forming a track pivotally mounted on said members,said track means including a weight freely movable on the track from endto end thereof under the influence of gravity and means on the trackadapted to releasably hold said rod gripping means in locking positionwhen the weight is at one end of the track, stop means formed at one endof said frame to limit the range of movement of the track. side armssecured to the frame at the other end of the track, an axle securedbetween said side arms, a container mounted to rotate on said axle, saidcontainer having its outer end formed into an outlet spout and its innerend widened upwardly, an enclosing housing secured on "said ledgeoutside of said sash and having its upper side formed into ahopper tocatch rain water to be transmitted by a corresponding opening into saidcontainer, means secured to the bottom of said container to contact theledge when said track moves downwardly to tip said container to allowits contents to be discharged through said spout.

2. The combination with a window structure including a window casingprovided with a bottom ledge and a window sash positioned for verticalmovement in the casing, of a window sash locking device comprising, asash supporting rod secured at its upper end to the sash and extendingledge, tubular means secured to said ledge and surrounding the rod belowsaid ledge, a liquid container fitted around said opening and dependingfrom said ledge and adapted to surround the through and below an openingin said bottom upper end of said tube, said tube having openings incommunication with the container through which the liquid may flow, aplunger secured to the lower end of said rod and adapted to move axiallyin said tube, valve means arranged in said plunger to stop the flow ofliquid therethrough upon downward movement of the rod and thereby tocause said liquid to leak slowly around said plunger to arrest thedownward movement of the sash, upstanding, spaced, members arranged onsaid ledge adjacent said rod, an elongated lever pivotally mountedbetween said members, said lever having a ring-like opening at one endconstructed to fit loosely around said rod when in inactive position butto grip and hold the same when said lever is maintained in activeposition, a frame formng a track pivotally mounted on said members, aweight on said track freely movable thereon from end to end of thetrack, holding means on the frame adapted to hold said lever in itsgripping position when the weight is at one end of the track, a rainwater receptacle pivotally mounted'on said track at the opposite endthereof. and means cooperating with said receptacle to cause the weightto move toward it and thereby to release the rod gripping means to allowthe rod and sash to descend.

HORACE A, STUKES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,107,446 Rau Aug. 18, 19141,187,381 Palmer June 13, 1916 1,799,872 Seipel Apr. 7, 1931 1,994,940Butters Mar. 19, 1935 2,083,450 Kaufman June 8, 1937 2,441,230 StukesMay 11, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 324,417 Germany Aug.28, 1920

